In a tight-knit community like Alpena, where the waters of Thunder Bay meet the hardworking spirit of northern Michigan, youth sports are far more than weekend distractions or Friday night lights. They are a vital thread in the fabric of our town, fostering healthier kids, stronger ...
In last Saturday’s paper, school board member, Monica Dziesinski, made statements justifying her vote on a paving bid. Her editorial was supposed to be a rebuttal to community perceptions of her questionable decision making and voting record. The legal jeopardy she may have put herself in with her explanation of why she voted to award an almost $700,000 contract to a higher bidder, Goodrich, is concerning. Not only is the information she provided in contrast to what the public was told regarding the quality of the asphalt the school system was purchasing, but it also appears she made ...
In the late ‘90s I served on the Alpena School Board for seven years. I also served as Alpena County Probate judge for fifteen years. The role of a school board member is not confined to board meetings. Rather, much more time is spent at committee meetings, communicating with school administrators, visiting the various schools, reading many reports and articles, and of course, spending a lot of time on the phone and in-person visits with constituents, etc. As probate judge I was able to review proposed ballots and ballot language before the voters entered the voter booth and ...
In 200-plus years of interpreting the free speech clause of the First Amendment, the courts have narrowed and expanded its scope. The Supreme Court employed a particularly narrow approach during much of the last century, through two world wars and then the Red Scare in the 1950s. Thankfully, in the 1960s, the Warren Court began a remarkable and thus far unimpeded march toward compelling the government to tolerate open, wide, caustic and even threatening speech. When crafting the First Amendment with its iconic speech clause -- "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of ...
Data centers are big buildings full of machines that process what we do on our phones and computers. AI requires even more computing power, so companies are eager to build more data centers. The usual suspects are freaking out. "We must stop it!" says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Slow it down!" demands Sen. Bernie Sanders. Data centers do use lots of power, and water to cool them down because their computers generate heat. One center can use as much power and water as a small town. "Uses resources like a madman!" says one protester in my new video. Last year, ...
In the debate over redistricting, one truth is too often buried beneath legal jargon and partisan maneuvering: Gerrymandering is, at its core, about voter dilution. It is the quiet engineering of political outcomes, line by line, until communities that should speak with strength are instead reduced to whispers. For decades, one of the most consequential tactics has been "cracking," splitting cohesive communities, often made up of Black voters, across multiple districts so they become a minority everywhere and a majority nowhere. The impact is profound. A population large enough to ...
